The Colombia National Flag:

The Current Weather in Colombia:

Colmbia is a beautiful country imbedded among the treasured rain forest, beaches, mountains, and extraordinary culture and people. While Colombia has threats of travel warnings from the US State Department, over 300 adoptions happen each year from this country. Adoptions in Colombia have been taking place under the current system since 1979 and the process is extremely stable. The only problem with this program is the length of time it takes to complete the process, two to three years from start to finish! It can be a very long and frustrating wait for many families. Basically this is not a good program for anyone without a great deal of patience.

When travel finally does come, families stay with coordinators and in the city to adopt their children and do not travel to outer lying areas, however, families adopting from Colombia need to be aware of travel advisories issued by the State Department. We can never forget the precious children in this country who need families and we are dedicated to help them find the love of a family each child born into this world deserves.

• US State Department information on Travel to Colombia - http://travel.state.gov/colombia_warning.html
   
• Lonely Planet Colombia Information -
  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/south_america/colombia/

 

The children waiting for adoption in Colombia range from infants to school age children and there are more boys than girls. There are infants as young as 3 months old at the time of referral, however the referral time for these very young infants is much longer than for children 12 months and older. The children live in "Special Protection Centers" (Centros de Proteccion Especial (CPE). In these orphanage, the children are cared for by caregivers with the assistance of psychologists and social workers. The children may also live in Foster Care with families selected by the ICBF (Colombian Institute of Family Welfare) and financially supported by the ICBF. In the CPE's there are no more than 20 children per CPE and in the Foster Homes there are no more than 3 children per foster home.

Adoptions in Colombia are under strict supervision of the Government through an official entity-The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF- Instituto Colombiano De Bienstar Familiar). The adoption process in Colombia takes three steps: First families must be evaluated and be given suitable approval by the ICBF (this takes approximately 8 months); Second, after families are found to be suitable to adopt by the ICBF, they are placed on a "waiting list" to receive the referral of a child (this takes up to two years depending on the age of the child- and it can be shorter if families are willing to adopt a child over 7 years old, a group of older siblings, special needs children, etc). The last step is the referral. Once a family accepts a child, the Judicial process of the adoption starts and families will travel approximately 2-3 weeks later to submit the application to the judge and complete the adoption. The trip in country is about one month, however, one parent can leave after 7 to 10 days.

You will work closely with your WPA Adoption Coordinator during your journey to build your forever family. Our entire staff is composed of dedicated parents who have adopted their own children, and they have compassion and empathy for your needs throughout your process. We will help you file your INS paperwork, compile the documents for your dossier, and answer all of your questions about the adoption process.

	ICBF Criteria for Adopting from Colombia
	To be referred a child 0-3 years, each adoptive parents age range must be between 25-35 years old. To be referred a child between 3-6 years, each adoptive parents age range must be between 36 and 45 years old. All adoptive parents older than 45 years old will be referred a child 7 years or older. All single women will likely receive a referral of a child 6 years or older. The ICBF will try to match the age of the adoptive parents in each age bracket with what they consider to be an appropriate aged child. Must be married for a minimum of 3 years. No more than 2 divorces for either parent. Priority is given by the ICBF to couples who are childless or who have one child, those who request a sibling group, request to adopt children over 7 years old, or request a child with special needs. Childless families can specify gender ~however, the ICBF believes the first child should be either gender, just like if you gave birth you would have no choice! There are always more boys than girls as well.

We will be happy to help you in any way and answer any questions you have. Please call us at 1-800-350-7338 or email us at WPAJim@aol.com
We look forward to being a part of your journey to adopt a Child!